


Of Demons and Doves||demon!Ryan

by Raakxhyr



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: AU, Demon Ryan, Demons, M/M, Mentions of Murder, and uhhh IDK spooky stuff, of demons and doves, ricky goldsworth - Freeform, there's going to be some death but don't worry about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-03-10 21:17:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13509966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raakxhyr/pseuds/Raakxhyr
Summary: Welcome to my demon!Ryan AU.Meet Ryan Bergara: your everyday Buzzfeed editor with an uncanny ability to sense spirits better than others in the office. He meets Shane during their days as an intern, and finds out he used to drabble in rituals, until nothing would ever happen (or so he thought), and became a fully fledged skeptic. After visiting Goatman’s Bridge, Ryan feels followed by a dark presence, but it doesn’t feel violent. It feels comforting. Almost familiar.





	1. Of Demons and Doves||Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey ho glad you decided to read this ;_; progress will be slow, but I can't wait to share my world of demon!Ryan with you! Wanna talk more headcanons about demon!Ryan? Drop it in the comments or head over to my Tumblr :) Also... there's no like extreme violence or sex that happens until maybe perhaps later in the story. I'll warn you guys. Have fun! #TeamRicky

_      "Ryan, you must believe me. Look at yourself. There’s no other explanation. You wanted the truth, and now you have it.” Ryan stared into the empty black eyes, the bright red pupils staring back at him from the man, and shook his head, conflicted. He was in pain, but it felt good. He could see everything that haunted him, but he wasn’t scared. It felt good. It felt way too good. “But you’re still a disgrace.” _

 

     Ryan Bergara was your everyday Buzzfeed employee and ghost investigator - at least that’s what he loved to call himself. “Ryan Bergara: Ghost Detective” he’d title himself. Sure, starting the Unsolved series made him proud and he was determined to find proof enough to show that there were spirits inhabiting the world, but in the long run, it was a lifelong therapy. Ever since he was a child, he could have sworn he saw people that didn’t seem to ever exist. He could have sworn there was a shadow of a hand pushing him along, that there was a man-like creature that followed him, that there was something watching him. It would make him jump, become paranoid, but when he cleared his head, he brushed it all off. Ghosts weren’t real, after all. 

     This all changed after his time at the Queen Mary. It was his senior year of high school and he visited the haunted ship with some of his video productions friends to document and share their adventure, more to keep as a memory. While he wasn’t sure if his friends were telling the truth or simply mocking him, he could have sworn that there was someone or something poking his face while he tried to sleep, and there was certainly something in the room that was trying to mess with them - he tried to dismiss the soft singing and quiet giggles of a little girl.

     He would quickly forget this incident, brush it off like he did everything else, but it would never truly leave him. Soon he was graduating high school, then he breezed through college, started his own production line, worked with popular video crews, and ended up working as an intern at Buzzfeed.

     That was the fateful day he met his now-partner, Shane Madej. Shane had already been at the desk when Ryan walked in being toured around by a couple of the already-producers until they reached the shared space. Ryan waved a little and held out his hand to introduce himself and Shane promptly returned the favor, and their friendship grew slowly. 

     In all honesty, Ryan never expected their friendship to come as far as it did. They’d produced a couple videos together, got into their own business and had some shenanigans at their shared desk space, and soon the Test Friends became popular, though they didn’t expect that to get its name either.

 

     There was one day that stuck out to Ryan, though he’d pushed it to the back of his mind and Shane hadn’t wanted to keep it in his head. He remembered when he came upon some old footage of himself on the boat with his video productions friends and tentatively prodded Shane on the shoulder.

     “What’s up?” Shane asked, turning to his friend.

     “Uh, I just found some cool videos I had from high school and um, do you believe in ghosts?”

     Shane raised his eyebrow in response and Ryan held his breath for a second, wondering if he’d made himself look a fool or offended him.

     “I used to, to be honest,” Shane confessed, and Ryan felt himself breathe again, this time more curious.

     “Used to?”

     “Yeah, back in high school when I’d be kind of obsessed with demons and shit, trying those ritual things.” Shane shrugged. “I dunno, I don’t believe in that kind of crap anymore. Nothing ever happened to me, or at least that I could tell? I mean, I’m alive now, aren’t I?” He laughed. “Whatever, yeah. Why, do you?”

     “Uh, yeah. I had a weird ghost encounter on the Queen Mary, you know that ship down in the docks?”

     “Oh, that big ol’ thing? Yeah, I know about the ship. Didn’t know it had some bullshit attached.”

     “Oh okay, now you’re just being an asshole.” Ryan smiled and gently punched his friend on the arm. This was the day that prompted Ryan to create a show that would gather the ideas of believers and skeptics alike, though his co-host of choice was not his desk-mate.

 

     When Unsolved broke out, Ryan was having a blast, and Shane had fun watching the episodes as they came out, leaving Ryan a few comments when he’d return to his desk the following days. Though they were a little snide, Ryan got a great laugh out of them. Shane was also surprised the day Ryan asked him to be his co-host. Brent had dropped from being in show, busy with his own projects and having little interest in the subject matter, and Ryan needed a skeptic by his side to add to the fun of the show. Shane didn’t hesitate for a second.

     While Ryan had a blast filming the True Crime episodes, there was something about the Supernatural that really drew him in, wanting to explore each haunted attraction. This was when he remembered about all his childhood events, the Queen Mary, and suddenly he felt petrified stepping into any building. Shane’s skepticism towards the spirits was one of his last motivations to even press on the further than he would explore. 

     There were times he wasn’t sure how to feel. He couldn’t pinpoint it or accurately describe his emotions whenever he took the time to really examine his environment. On camera, he’d simply say he was afraid, but inside he felt more than that. One day his stomach would twist and burn and on another he could swear he was actually seeing people, eternally wounded, and gone in a breath, but they held eye contact. Sometimes, he felt as if someone was holding a knife steadily along his back, and other times he’d be hit with a brief, but tormenting migraine. While the physical pain was torturous, his mental and emotional states were muddled. His first instinct was panic, and he needed to get out, needed to scream. But something inside wanted him to come closer, something wanted him to talk, and he felt hungry. He needed to consume  _ something _ , not exactly food, but he could feel his senses heighten, and his mind grow hyper-aware. 

 

     He remembered the first time he misdirected his annoyance at Shane and barked towards the editors to remove what he believed were his special effects. It was only the second week of season two.

     Ryan looked back at the footage, still barely edited by the team, watching over their shoulders as his stomach began to twist. He wasn’t appointed to watch the team edit. He was there to make voice-overs, listen for any possible evidence, and make sure everything ran smoothly. But something pulled him to overlook the team. Something was telling him that he was vulnerable to the public, and he needed to stop it - whatever it was - from getting out.

     “There,” he immediately interrupted, pointing accusingly at the screen. “What the fuck is that? Take that shit off! Does he think this is funny?” 

     The editor had their jaw clenched, sitting near on their toes in fear of Ryan’s presence while they clicked around the screen. There sat an image of Ryan with pure black eyes, bright blue, slitted pupil staring directly into the camera, what looked like horns beginning to form on his forehead, and two large, ugly fangs on his bottom jaw curving further up than they should be able to.

     “It- it can’t, uh, it can’t be removed, Ryan. This part hasn’t been edited yet…”

     “You’re fucking with me, right?” Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning down on the back of the editor’s chair as a migraine began to tear into his head. He heard a set of footsteps approach him.

 

    “You okay, bud?” Shane tilted his head and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking over at the screen with a raised eyebrow. “Nice edit, that looks totally real. Ryan is one hundred percent a demon,” he said with a quiet laugh, but stopped as soon as he caught the sight of the editor sitting stiffly, staring at him with innocent confusion, and obviously shaken.

     “It’s not edited at all, Shane. This was just part of the footage,” the editor replied.

     “Oh? Well, whatever it is, just be sure to remove all those parts, ‘cause we don’t need them or whatever prank someone’s trying to pull here.”

 

     The editor nodded and Shane pulled Ryan away with ease, and as soon as the image was off the screen, Ryan’s head felt immediately clear, and he quickly apologized to his colleague, following Shane quietly after.

 

     “What happened back there, man?” Shane looked down at Ryan with his hand on his back, grabbing a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen.

     “I...I don’t know. I just had this voice in my head telling me I should go see what the editor was up to and...I don’t know why seeing that picture of me made me so...angry?” Ryan rubbed his temples, thanking Shane for the glass of water as he took it, but waved away the pill.

     “Voices in your head? You really are going nuts, man.” Shane smiled a little, and brought Ryan to their desks. “You sure you’ll be alright? I could drive you home, if you want.”

     “No, no, I’ll be fine. Thanks, though. I’ll just finish up the last of this narration and then I think I’ll be good. It’s getting late, anyway.”

     “Whatever you say, bud. I’m headed off for the night. See you tomorrow.”

 

     Ryan slipped on his headphones and watched Shane leave, sending him a small smile and a wave, before he turned back towards his computer to finish lining everything up.

 

     As the weeks passed, Ryan’s migraines and pain only grew worse. His attempts to control his outbursts grew annoyingly difficult, and at one point Shane had to hold him back from throwing a chair. 

     This cued Ryan to take some time off of work, luckily on their last week of Supernatural, so he wouldn’t have to worry too much about all the final or any future editing for a while. While at home with his dogs, Micki and Dori, he spent his time on the couch watching everything from movies to sports, binging on his favorite snacks, and going out to the gym when he was feeling restless. 

     This didn’t mean he had been making any better progress, but it was better than blowing up in the office, which had honestly frightened people. No one in their entire workplace had truly seen Ryan lose it, or stomp as angrily, or yell as loud as he did. Sure, he’d get annoyed at Shane and Daysha and other people who’d pick on him, but he’d never truly become furious in the office. That was the first time they’d all been afraid of him, and grew concerned.

     Shane had come by a few times to make sure Ryan was alright at home or if he had needed any food. Honestly, Ryan was happy to have some form of company on the few days he’d taken off. Ryan was especially happy that Shane even asked to tag along during his movie marathons or gym time. 

     There was a moment Ryan had nearly thrown a rack of weights at someone and nearly got into a fight, and Shane quickly excused them from there. What really took him back was the fact Ryan lifted almost twice the weights than normal, but the grunts were all the same.

     Then there was the nearly ramming a car when the other driver decided to be an asshole and stop at the yellow light just to go before it turned red. Ryan wasn’t a happy camper, and Shane had never been more afraid in his life.

 

     They spent a night alone just viewing a classic they wanted to revisit, and Shane decided to ask him a question in the middle of the film. He turned his head, looking at the side of Ryan’s face deeply focused on the screen. For a moment, Shane smiled, almost longingly, but he shook his head and opened his mouth to speak.

     “Hey, Ryan?” Shane waited, but got no response. “Ryan.” Again, he waited, and finally got a reply.

     “Yeah...yeah, what’s up, Shane?” Ryan turned his head from the screen just as the two characters sat down to speak together on the house porch.

     “I, uh, I’m just worried about you. I mean, you’ve had all these weird personality changes recently and I wanted to know if, you know, you’re okay? Like, if there’s something that happened or you’re, I dunno, taking something…”

     “What? No, no, I’m fine. I don’t know why I’ve changed, either, to be honest. I’ve just been getting all these weird bodily pains. But, they’ve been getting better since I took a break from work. Maybe I’m stressed from work and it’s been building up. But I promise you, I’m okay.” Ryan smiled and Shane nodded, searching his friend’s face for any hints of omitted information, but there was none.

     “As long as you’re feeling better, then.”

     “Yeah, and hey, thanks for visiting me. I mean you, and sometimes Steven and some of the others visiting me has made my vacation less lonely.” 

     Micki on the floor looked up, as if offended, and Ryan laughed, assuring the dog they were wonderful company.

     “It’s fine,” Shane replied, shaking his head. “I don’t mind, honestly. Must be nice to be out of the office.” He smiled. “And besides, you’re my best friend. I care about you.”

     “Me, too, bud.” Ryan smiled softly at his friend beside him. Shane glanced down at Ryan’s hand between them and hesitated to reach over, instead giving his shoulder a few pats.

     “You ready for True Crime coming up?”

     “I guess. I know the fans are.”

 

\---

 

     The days that Ryan spent alone were a different story. It was true, what he’d told Shane. The pain gradually began to fade as the days continued away from the office. His random bursts became easier to control, and he even went to the office a few times to hang out with some friends and help with filming.

     But something strange began to haunt him. He was never one to try those weird rituals or summonings of spirits. The idea of it seemed like it would only be fun until something decided to suck you into the other realm or something would stay with you until you’d wasted your life away into paranoia. 

     He once woke up in the middle of the night to find himself slumped over in the bathroom, laying in the bathtub with nothing but cold water around his body. He was frightened when he felt how cold the water was around him, not even sure it was water when he initially woke up, and made a huge spill over the side of the tub. He shivered, staring around his bathroom only to see the small green light on the switch across the way. He stood up, waving his hands around to feel where the sink approximately was. He knew his bathroom well enough to at least guess where things were located, and flipped the light on. He stared at himself in the mirror, naked and cold, everything but his head soaked. He ran out, first instinct telling him to grab a towel and dry off. 

     When he came back to the bathroom, he noticed his clothes neatly folded on the sink counter, a half melted candle, and a couple paper towels with black stains. He shook his head and walked over to the bathtub. It was clogged, and the water was finally settling from when he had gotten up initially. His feet stood on the cold, water covered tile floor, and he leaned over to unclog the tub when he noticed his reflection and fell back with a scream, scrambling out of the bathroom.

     Ryan sat outside the bathroom, scared, the light from that room only shining on him. He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there, but when he got up, he ran back to the tub, and his reflection was normal. He thought he was hallucinating, now, and quickly drained the water and left a bunch of towels on the floor to let it dry. 

     Micki and Dori had run up the steps to meet him and provide him company as he cleaned up the bathroom, not having any time to question where everything came from, and quickly shut himself inside his room with the tv left on.

 

     This would continue for a few more nights, and Ryan each time would never understand what was happening. Either he was getting drugged, extremely intoxicated, or some spooky phenomenon was toying with his memories. He was sure it couldn’t have been the first two- he didn’t touch drugs or medication unless he was really sick, and he hadn’t been drinking heavily in a while (though, maybe now was a good time to lose his mind), but he didn’t want to let the idea that some spirit was messing with him be the truth. He wanted it to be the farthest from the truth as possible.

 

     Then there was the one night he got a good look at his reflection.

 

     This time Ryan was fully conscious, and he was in the most pain he’d been in in a while. At this point, he wanted to just lean over the toilet bowl, let it all out. But that’s not what his body was telling him. Ryan had locked his bathroom door to prevent his dogs from coming inside. His legs and arms were covered from some of their bites and scratches. That was not a fun night for him to wake up to. 

     Holding his head, he groaned, and he didn’t even notice he was crying until a few drops had rolled down his face and tickled his skin. He didn’t care anymore. He just wanted the pain to go away. Ryan gripped his hair tight, trying to press his palm hard against the side of his head to stop the throbbing. He was hot, and then cold, and then he was hot again, and he was beginning to sweat and shiver all the while. He had to remove his shirt, and once he let go of his head, there was a searing pain that dragged like a knife from his forehead and around to his spine and he stiffened, crying out for help. 

     He managed to finally pull his shirt off, and leaned over to grab the counter’s edge, jaw stuck in a scream, and the fire inside of his chest became too overbearing; he blacked out. 

 

     When Ryan opened his eyes, he was still standing over the sink, and the pain was merely a slow throb over his head. His back felt like there had been mosquitos all over him, and he had the great need to scratch it. He reached behind himself and began to rub his nails over where the pain was coming from. He jumped first at the pain from when his nail touched his back, and then at the thought that he had just touched something that was on his back. It was hard, and felt attached to his skin and muscle. He hit it again, and quickly retracted his hand, shaking it in front of him. 

     When he looked down at his hand, there were large claws protruding where his nails would have been, and bits of dark, indigo fur sticking out in random tufts. His eyes opened wide with shock, and realized that all the lighting in the room seemed brighter, and he could hear more clearly his heart pounding in his chest and his dogs clawing on the wooden door, scraping loudly. Then he felt his ears move.

 

     His ears just fucking moved. 

 

     He tried listening again, and focused in on the sound of dripping water, and he felt it again - the movement of his ear against his head. When he looked in the mirror and lifted his hand to touch it, he screamed, nearly scrambling for the door, and in a panic forgetting he had locked it.

     Ryan stood there, not wanting to move, his entire body stiff and still itching. He walked cautiously towards the mirror again and his jaw hung open in shock, eyes wide. 

 

     “What the fuck?!” 

 

     He looked at himself up and down. There were two, large swooping horns going over his head in a single, smooth curve, ridges and all. Then there were the two fangs hanging from his lower jaw, curving up towards his cheeks. There were his eyes, which took him back. They were a black void, with two blue slits as his pupils. His ears were like that of a goat and a gargoyle, pointed, curling, covered in the same indigo fur as that on his hands. His facial hair had at least grown out, equally dark, tufts making him look like he had really bad sideburns. 

     That’s when he remembered the itch on his back and slowly turned his body, still shocked, staring at the six horns on his back. And there, swishing back and forth just where his spine would come to an end -  a tail. He watched it move, trying to understand how it worked, and he looked back at himself again.

     This couldn’t have actually been happening to him. He looked like someone had used him for costume practice on a horror set and forgot to remove everything completely. 

 

     “What the hell is going on…” He turned on his faucet and splashed water over his face to see if it would all go away, but it was ineffective. Everything was still there. He wiped the water off his face, and held his fangs, his horns, felt his ears. This was all so surreal to him. 

 

     His next move was to run out of the bathroom and grab the holy water in his travel bag. He managed to avoid his dogs and searched until he found the water gun from the Bigfoot episode they had recorded, along with the water bottle that he would have used to refill it. He wasn’t sure if the holy water had an expiration date, but he was hoping God would be nice to him today and ran back to the bathroom. He grabbed a cup, poured some of the water from the bottle in, and held the water gun in his hand. He aimed it towards the other, and sprayed a little, to see what would happen.

     What came next was a burn on his skin, and he hissed, watching the fur begin to disappear from his hand. He stared down at it, looking at the bare spot where the fur once was only to see his regular skin. He looked back up at himself and quickly poured the cup of holy water over him and tried to hold back the sudden agony he was in, falling to his knees, holding his head to the floor as the pain washed over his body in waves. For a moment again, he blacked out.

     When he came to, he no longer felt any pain. Just a distant throb in his head. He stood up, and stared at himself in the mirror, and decided now was a good time to go take a nap and forget any of that had happened.

 

\---

 

     One day, while not necessarily back at work, Ryan decided to roam around the BuzzFeed office and see what people were shooting, see if they needed another camera guy or sound guy, and ended up helping film a few new episodes that would be released in the coming weeks. He found it nice to be able to share laughs with friends again, forget about whatever weird things were going on with him at home. 

 

     Then his head began to hurt again, and he paled, excusing himself to the bathroom in the middle of a conversation.

 

     Ryan splashed cold water on his face in attempt to cool himself down and numb the migraine that dug nails into his head. He groaned outwardly, loud enough that if someone was standing right out the door, they’d hear him. He held his head, eyes shut tight, and he began to whimper as tears caught the corners of his eyes. He blacked out for a moment, but still stood at the sink, frozen completely in stiff pain. When he looked up, a pair of large, swooping horns sat atop his head, and two ugly fangs hung from his lower jaw, causing his mouth to stay slightly parted. He stared into his eyes, wide with fear and anger. There they stared back, pure black with a blue slit for the pupil. 

 

     “No, no! Not now, Ryan, now now!” He groaned and pressed his clawed hands to his face, screaming into his palms. He could hear everything now. The voices that were hushed, now clear to him on the other side of the door. He could hear the soft hum from the lights and generators, and the careful drip of water in the bathroom. And footsteps.

     He hurried himself into a stall and locked the door, taking the risk to sit down with the cover down. A groan ripped from him again, this time guttural, and the person on the other side could be heard unzipping their pants.

 

     “Yo, Ryan, you alright in there? You’ve been here for a while. Eat something bad for lunch?” Zach had walked in to use the bathroom, and Ryan wasn’t sure how to answer him. 

     “Uh- you know, yeah, I had something bad. Just um…” He stopped again to cover his mouth while the throbbing on his head and jaw beat his head in. “I’m...I’m um...I just need some time to get it out of my system, you know?”

     “Oh, I getcha, bud. I’ll leave you to it, then. And don’t forget to spray, alright?” 

 

     Ryan could hear Zach head to the sink to rinse his hands off before stepping outside, and he was alone again. He briefly heard Zach telling everyone that he needed alone time, and Ryan couldn’t have thanked Zach more as he stepped out of the stall and closed his eyes, taking out a mini spray bottle he’d been holding onto, filled with holy water that he’d gotten just a few days ago. He took it out and aimed it at himself, spraying a few times to feel his skin burn, and he hissed, dropping the bottle into the sink. He gripped the edge, and fell over, writhing on the ground, his hands digging into the floor till he thought his nails would break.

     When the pain stopped, he gasped for air, breathing heavily on the ground, tears spilling from his eyes. He lay there for a few moments, but the thought of the bathroom floor ushered him onto his feet and he used his arms to press on the sink surface to help him up. He stared into the mirror and saw no sign of the horns ever being there, or his jaw ever having had fangs. His hands had returned to normal, and he looked into his eyes’ reflection to see nothing amiss. He sighed, and found the pain to be very little, tolerable at the most. 

     He splashed water onto his face again and shook his head, grabbing some paper towels to dry himself off. He grabbed his spray bottle and tucked it back into his pocket, double checking himself in the mirror before he stepped out. 

 

     To his surprise, Shane was standing there, waiting for him, holding out a bottle of water. 

 

     “Thought you might need this,” his friend offered, and Ryan took it gratefully.

     “Thanks, Shane. How long have you been waiting?”

     “Um, ever since I heard you in great pain? Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, it sounded pretty bad, whatever you ate.”

     “Oh? Oh, yeah, uh, I’ll be fine. Probably just food poisoning or something. Not a good day for me.”

     “Well, as long as you’re alright. Also, True Crime is gonna premiere soon. Are you gonna be okay by then? You know, with our post-mortems that we have to record, the videos we have to edit. I don’t want you to feel like you’re overworked or anything.”

     “Yeah, no, yeah, I’ll be fine. I should be back in full force by then.”

     “Alright. And I’ll have more of the Hot Daga ready, too.”

     “Oh, god, you’re still doing that? Please, please, let it end.”

     “You’re the one that let it keep going with a cliffhanger.”

     “Oh, shut up.”

 

     Ryan laughed quietly as he went to join his group back where he had left them, but he stole a quick look at Shane walking back to his desk, and raised an eyebrow. 

 

     For a moment, he could have sworn there was a red shadow that had passed over him, and vanished as quickly as he could blink.

 

     Whatever it was, Ryan didn’t want to worry too much over it, and went back to his chatter. And for a second, he could have sworn he heard Shane whisper his name.

 


	2. Of Demons and Doves||Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan begins to discover he can do more than transform parts of his body and grow blue hair. Also, when did Steven and Andrew start dating? And does Ryan have a budding crush?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi everyone, thank you for being so patient with this story. I had writer's block for the longest time with the plot, but after talking with some friends, I knew how I wanted to pace it along. I also had Uni get in the way. I actually have two days left before my finals and instead I wrote this chapter :P 
> 
> I hope you enjoy !!

_“Don’t fight it, Ryan. Let it overcome you. Embrace it. Being a demon isn’t always a curse, and you, kid, are most certainly a blessing.”_

Ryan shot up with a gasp. He looked around to identify where he was, rubbing his eyes, slightly hunched over. The sun was barely shining through the windows, and he looked around his room, allowing his heart to slow down. Micki and Dori had their heads lifted, greeting him with nuzzles and kisses.  
His dreams had been erratic lately, and he was losing sleep from time to time. He’s just thankful he hasn’t woken up on the streets.  
The one that had just shaken him awake just now, he recalled only in fragments, and he stared off, trying to piece together what he can in hopes he could recover his memory. There was a man standing across from him, face unable to be recalled, large stature, and claws. But, he called him son. He called him his boy, like it was his father speaking to him. Unless this was some nightmarish version of his dad, he wanted to forget about it. But the pure presence of this man kept recurring in the world of his unconscious mind, and he seemed almost familiar, like Ryan had met him before, a long time ago.  
Ryan decided he would rather put the thoughts aside, and grabbed his laptop from the bedside table. He opened up a Word document he had created since his weird “shifting” occurrence, and scrolled to where he had left off. For the past few weeks, he’d been keeping records of his dreams and any weird events during the times he was awake. Sometimes, dreams began to blend in with reality, and he couldn’t be sure of what he was seeing exactly, but he trusted his memory enough to put all the detail down to the best of his ability. 

_Last night’s dream was mellow compared to the others. No killing, no death, no haunting. It’s weird to say that I feel almost too accustomed to it, now. Of course, these are just dreams, and not very threatening to me, but the images are still very real in my mind._  
This time I was walking in the middle of a forest. I think there was a highway nearby, because a few cars had passed. It was really dark outside, and I walked up to this man (same guy as all my others?) And he talked to me (something about embracing something like powers I guess) and called me son, again.  
Still don't know what he looks like, but very tall, probably works out a lot, good legs.  
End of notes. 

He read it over again and made sure he wasn’t leaving anything out. Drumming his fingers over the keys, he recalled the sequence of the dream before going back in to rearrange and add more details.

_I heard the cars before I knew I was in a forest. The conversation with this Leg Man was actually kind of long (like his legs. Longer than Shane. Take that, Shane, you freak). He was telling me to be wary of a red spirit named… the name has slipped my memory, but that’s all. He said this was like another demon or something that wanted to get to me but I can just like...fight it with my demon powers right_  
I mean if the demon powers are a real thing  
Like I know that I have these weird shifting things happening but like I dont have weird spooky powers that I know about or maybe I need to perform a ritual on myself? But I don't mess with that kind of shit because like what if I have to fight another demon and I don't know what I’m doing I mean is my fist really going to hurt them because they’re a demon and I’m not  
Or maybe I am a demon I don't know I’m still conflicted and I’m like really confused I wonder if anyone knows about this that I can talk to 

_But anyway avoid this red spirit or whatever that’s all (what does it even look like, like is it the shape of a human or a cloud? But a red cloud isn’t really that scary. Actually it might be scary, I don’t know. Wouldn’t you be scared of a red cloud? Like that’s some end of the world stuff)_

Ryan sighed and put the laptop away, leaning back against the frame of the bed then looked down at his dogs, who had been more than generously comforting. He still wasn’t sure what was happening to him during those times, just that he would look really hairy, and blue. He was digging the blue hair, though. He could probably pretend he had dyed his hair, but that would break the “pristine tipped bro bond”.  
He rolled his eyes and hopped out of bed, hyped to start filming for the new Unsolved Supernatural season. They were already a few episodes in, the last filming location having been at the Eastern State Penitentiary. They’d be leaving in a few weeks to Texas to film the next location, the Goatman’s bridge. Until then, it was spending time at the office to work on other projects while their show was on a hiatus.  
Ryan was asked to be part of the film and sound crew for others and he thought it would be a good way to bide his time aside from editing and staying home with his dogs and meeting his family at Disneyland (though, he wouldn't mind going every day. Sadly, he was not getting paid for that).  
He made his way to the bathroom and began to clean up, the cool water on his face allowing him to feel fresh, along with the minty taste in his mouth. He began shifting halfway through brushing his teeth, and thankfully he wasn’t in agonizing pain this time. There was simply a quiet throb in the back of his head and along his body. Ryan scowled, but he couldn't stop it. He was able to somewhat control how much he transformed if he tried hard enough. He wasn’t sure what it was, but a few meditation and inner self videos seemed to lead him in the right direction. Whatever it was inside of him that he could focus on, he could ease the speed and pain of the moment.  
He looked at himself in the mirror and laughed quietly at the toothbrush that now scrubbed a large fang, spitting out what he could and gargled some water. He wasn’t exactly sure how to wash down the fang, but he assumed pouring water on it then wiping it down would work.  
He yelped when the water simply splashed on his shirt and over the counter, staring in disappointment as the fangs had disappeared in another shift, and now he looked like an idiot pouring water on himself.  
Groaning, Ryan wiped off the counter and walked back to his room to change for the day, tossing his wet shirt in the laundry basket. After cleaning up, he checked himself in the mirror. He had on a plain blue, short sleeve button down, which he adjusted at the collar until his neck was comfortable, and some black jeans. He made sure his hair was properly gelled and did finger guns at the mirror, making a few faces as he posed and checked his hair at different angles. 

“Alright, Detective Bergara, it’s time for work. First case: Steven Lim.” He laughed and headed down for a quick breakfast, met his brother at the door, and ran out to his car.  
While he sat between all the cars on the road, he began to wonder if he should speak to any local priests, maybe even some exorcists. It was something he’d been thinking about for a long time, but he wasn’t even sure if he could really pinpoint it as demonic possession. He wasn’t getting hurt, except for that pain when he transformed, he wasn’t exactly getting bruised or beaten or bleeding out randomly, and he wasn’t hallucinating (he hoped).  
He did think he was hearing voices, though. Maybe he was just caught up from the entire Penitentiary adventure, but he was sure he could hear someone whispering to him when he was alone.  
He tried looking up on the internet what to do in the case of demonic possession, just in case it really was his problem. Most of the steps were asking intrapersonal questions, seeking out priests, really reflecting on himself.  
Other things he tried to look up like “I suddenly have fangs” or “what to do if suddenly shapeshifting” but the only answers he got were stupid riddles and dumb Quora quizzes.  
Most of the time he tried to look through all the supernatural cases he had covered over the so far two and a half seasons of Unsolved. Nothing there was useful to him, since he couldn’t quite connect to any of it. The only answer he had for himself was that something happened where a spirit became attached to him.  
It couldn’t have just been coincidence, even with his tendency to try and hold back. Then again, Shane didn’t have any problems.

Ryan’s eyes widened for a little, and an idea popped into his head. Maybe he could ask Shane if he’s been feeling weird at all.  
He groaned, sighed, then shook his head. There was no way Shane would admit to any kind of ghost attachment or demonic possession. He’d probably just reason that he was maybe getting sick or overworked. So much for that idea.  
He could ask the camera crew, and maybe some others around the office who believed in this kind of stuff, but he also didn’t want to reveal too much of what’s been going on to him to a lot of people.  
Ryan shut his eyes briefly in frustration, and decided he would keep to himself for now. There was absolutely no easy way he could explain himself or what he was feeling without sounding like an idiot. Maybe he would just try to live out what was happening and talk to a priest later. While his weird “demon persona” appearance became a natural routine, starting with a gentle burn in his chest to a buzz in his ears, he couldn’t deny that he was still scared by it all, and could only be hoping that he was dreaming. It was only the natural human response, he thought to himself. He’d never seen or experienced anything like this, even in the cases he read over. And every article about demonic possession just seemed overexag-

_BEEP! HONK!_

Ryan’s eyes shot to his rearview mirror then quickly to the large empty space between him and the streetlight, and he bashfully drove on, his thoughts swept aside. He blew out a quiet stream of air and tried to clear his mind in order to ready for work.

As soon as he got to the office, he was already on his feet, working a camera in a kitchen, and following Steven around LA while he filmed a “Worth It” episode, not necessarily for “Lifestyle” or the main food crew. It was just one of those “on the side” videos. The filming had taken most of the day for one and a half parts of the episode, and he was already prepping for the following days of helping to film.  
When they were finishing up for the evening at the office, Andrew had come by to speak with Steven, and Ryan tried to pay little mind to it while he packed up the camera equipment and made sure everything was clean and undamaged. It was when he looked up and saw Steven plant a quick kiss on Andrew’s cheek that he shot his eyes back down and stuffed the bags away into the storage room.

“Uh, Steven,” Ryan said, his hands in the pockets of his jeans after Andrew had left.  
“Yeah, what’s up?” Steven turned around with a bright smile on his face, seeming to bounce on his heels.  
“You, uh, I didn’t know you and Andrew were together.”  
“Oh, um, yeah, we’ve kind of been keeping it on the down-low. It’s been about a month, now.”  
Ryan’s eyes widened. “A month? How did I not notice?” He smiled and patted Stevens shoulder. “I’m really happy to hear you two are together.”  
“What about you? Finally ask Shane for a kiss?”  
“What?” Ryan choked and stared at Steven in shock, voice breaking. “What do you mean?”  
“Oh, come on, Ryan. It’s obvious you like the guy.”  
“I- do not!” At this point, Ryan’s cheeks had began to tint a light pink, and a falter in his voice had him double thinking his answer. “I...I don’t...think I do.” His voice became quiet, and he began thinking about every shared moment between him and Shane, but ignored the flutter of his heart, and looked back up at Steven. “There’s no way.”  
“Please, Ryan, look at you. You totally do.”  
“You’re just planting thoughts in my head!”  
“Am _not_ , you totally like him! It’s not crazy.”  
“It’s one hundred percent crazy.”  
“Like your belief in ghosts.”  
“No!”  
“Yes!” Steven began to laugh. “I need to set up a Worth It date for you two.”  
“That is _not_ happening.”  
“It will one day. You just watch. I’ll get that video approved.

Ryan bit his tongue and walked out of the office with Steven. “So, how did you know?”  
“How did I know what?”  
“How did you know that you liked Andrew?”

Steven smiled and unlocked his car to drop his bags inside. “I don’t know, really. I mean, maybe it was after a couple drinks we shared during our last trip. Maybe it was the time we spent getting to know each other while we filmed the show.” He sighed and leaned against his car, staring at the fading colors of the sky while the sun clung to the horizon’s edge. “I just felt it in my heart. The way I would feel when I was with him, talking to him, looking at him, listening to him. Everything about Andrew made me smile. Even when we got to arguing over foods and when he would irritate me and I’d irritate him back.” He shrugged and looked at Ryan. “You just feel it.”  
“Just feel it, huh…” Ryan’s hands grew clammy at his sides, his heart racing at Steven’s words, except instead of Andrew, it was Shane he would replace the thoughts with, and he almost hopped on his feet. “I guess I know what you mean. But, I don’t know if I really feel this way, yet. I mean sure, I’ve spent almost two years working close with him on Unsolved, and longer from when I first came here…” He paused, and pursed his lips. “I’m also a horrible flirt, so I wouldn’t know if I was really making good moves or not.”  
“Just be yourself, Ryan. I’m sure Shane loves that about you. You’re a good guy. I’ve never seen him smile and laugh more around someone, or try to be as picky and nice at the same time. I think I’ve been around both of you long enough to pick it apart.” Steven gave Ryan a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “You’ll know.”  
“Thanks. I guess I’ll just think about it for now.”

Ryan bid his farewell to Steven, and headed to his own car, enjoying the quiet night on the road. When he got home, he thanked his brother for watching the dogs, waved goodbye as he left, and went to shower then crash on his bed.

“Do I like Shane?” Ryan asked as he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, and his heart jumped at the words. “I don’t like Shane,” he said, trying to deny the thought, but his voice faltered and betrayed him. “I like Shane,” he whispered, and he felt a warmth form in his chest. “I like Shane,” he said again, stronger this time, and a smile covered his face. “Oh, _man_.”  
Ryan groaned, turning over in his bed, his hand slipping beneath the pillow as he pressed his face into it, staring at the soft cotton cover. “This is crazy…”  
For the rest of the night, he began to question his real feelings for his best friend, and eventually slipped into a disturbed sleep. 

The next morning, he woke up to the sound of his dogs growling and whimpering at his door. He sat up and saw Micki and Dori with their ears flat against their head, tails between their legs, standing in the doorway and staring at him with teeth bared. He looked down at himself and saw his clawed hands, suddenly stiffening from the sight as it took him by surprise, and pressed his tongue up against the two fangs that held his mouth open.  
“Fuck,” he mumbled, voice still raspy from just waking up. When he threw his legs to the side of the bed and went to stand up, his dogs began to approach him with barks.

Ryan stared down at them and held his hands up. “Stop, sit, and be quiet,” he ordered, to which he watched Micki and Dori follow his commands immediately. With surprise, he cautiously began to walk around his bed and around the dogs on the floor, who sat watching him, as if waiting for him to continue commanding them. “Um, lay down and roll over?”  
And just like that, they did lie down and roll over. Ryan stared in awe, and shut his eyes as he felt his skin tighten again when he shifted back to his completely human form. His dogs got up and began to jump up to him, wanting to be held. He knelt down and pondered in quiet thought at what just happened while he went to pick one up, but stopped himself.  
Ryan sat there, kneeling down, and placed his hands on his thighs, flat. “Stand, Micki. Dori, lay down.” His dogs just stared at him and bounced up to his lap. He sighed, and tried to focus in on himself again, wondering if it had to do with the weird shifting abilities.  
He inhaled and exhaled slowly, searching inside of himself for….something. Something that felt like it could burn his chest inside out, and the fire began to spread throughout his body. When he opened his eyes, it didn’t seem like he had transformed at all, but the burning in his chest was still there. Feeling a little defeated, he stood up. “Okay, you guys. I don’t know what I was thinking. Just sit there and be good.”  
When Ryan left to go to the bathroom, he realized that his dogs, who’d usually tag along beside him on the way there, hadn’t come at all. He looked around his feet and the hallway then went back to his room where the dogs sat, staring at him patiently. He stood in his doorway in stupor. “Come, follow,” he said, and the dogs immediately got up, in sync, and stood at his feet.  
He walked towards his bathroom and they stepped at the same time. When he walked backwards, they still followed. As he went towards the sink, they followed, then began to jump around at his feet again, and the burning in his chest was gone.

“Woah,” he whispered quietly, and decided he would try to hone in on this “new ability” of his, and would try to test it on other animals. Maybe Zach would let him meet Bowie.  
For now, he needed to hurry up and get ready before he was late to work. 

Same morning routine, same drive to work, same flood of thoughts. Except now he was panicking over what he would do if he ran into Shane. Would he ask him about what Steven said? Would this affect their relationship? He wasn’t sure how to act, wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Everything should be normal between them, but with these new feelings, what really could be normal to him, anymore?  
Ryan was lost in his thoughts as he wandered to his desk, attention focusing now on the box that sat there. Shane stood there, smiling, and Ryan felt his heart melt for a good few seconds.

“Hey, Ryan.”  
“Huh-hi-hey, Shane, what’s this? New gift?”  
“Yeah, more fan-stuff I think.”  
“Sweet. I wonder what’s inside.” Ryan grabbed some scissors and his phone, and began to take pictures as he opened the box. The contents within were a few letters and some artwork, along with several bags of popcorn.  
They thanked the person who had sent the gifts and Ryan signed onto his computer to make sure he clocked in for work. 

A quiet snicker drew Ryan’s attention and he looked to the side to see Shane recording him on his phone and decided to reach out and stop the recording, mostly out of jokes. Shane waved his arm around and they got into a little bit of a fight as the timer ran down, and they ended up laughing together.

“So, heard you had another busy day ahead of you.”  
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Yesterday was a _long day_ of recording, and we’ve just gotten halfway through. We’re going somewhere downtown today. What about you?”  
“Just writing up some new Ruining History episodes today.”  
“Oh, yeah. I remember you mentioning you were bringing it back. I’m sure everyone’s going to love it.”  
“They better.” Shane smiled and slipped on his headphones as Ryan got up to grab the camera equipment. “Oh, Ryan.”  
“Huh?”  
“You should bring some extra water today. Heard it was going to be extra warm this afternoon.”  
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to check that in with Steven.”

Shane gave him an endearing smile and Ryan for a moment felt like he wanted to kiss his forehead before he left. He stood frozen for a good moment, like he was going to speak again, but Shane had already turned towards his computer screen.  
He bit his tongue, shook his head, and left to meet Steven. 

On his way, he ran into Zach, and remembered he wanted to test something out. He adjusted the back on his shoulder and tapped him on the back.

“Hey, hey, Zach.”  
“Ryan! Hey, what’s up?”  
“Are you free this weekend at all?”  
“This weekend? Yeah, I’m not really doing anything. Why?”  
“I wanted to know if I could come over and meet Bowie?”  
“Oh! Sure! I’m sure he’d love to meet you. What about your pups? They wanna come along?”  
“Um, sure? I guess, yeah. That’s fine.”  
“Cool! Just text me what time you wanna come by and I’ll make sure the place is at least presentable.”  
“Thanks.” 

Ryan smiled as he left and marked the upcoming Saturday on his phone’s calendar before meeting Steven in one of the studio rooms. 

“Hey, look who finally made it!”  
“Sorry, we got a new fan-package and went to record it.”  
“Yeah, I saw you got into a bit of a tousle, too, huh?” Steven elbowed him gently and Ryan rolled his eyes.  
“It was just because he was dicking around.”  
“Okay, okay, I believe you.”  
“And he said to bring more water since it was going to be extra warm today.”  
“Ohhh!” Steven snapped his fingers. “That’s what I forgot. Thanks for reminding me.” 

As the day continued on, another busy round of filming had Ryan and the rest of the crew sweaty and tired. They wrapped up a little earlier this evening, and Ryan was more than happy to be back at the air-conditioned office. Andrew came by again, this time pulling Steven aside to talk in private, and Ryan went to pack away the cameras alone. 

“Hey, welcome back, Ryan,” a familiar voice welcomed him, and Ryan swiveled his head to see Shane approaching him.  
“Oh, Shane, hey.” He smiled and shut the storage room door. “How was your writing?”  
“Super productive, and I already have an idea for the next episode I want to make after it.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Mhm, got it while doing research for this episode. I’m thinking... _pirates,_ eh?”

Ryan laughed and walked with Shane to the kitchen so he could grab another swig of water before he could get home and drink from the comfort of his living room. He looked out the window on the other side of the near empty office, and caught the sun just above the horizon, then turned back to Shane.

“Pirates sounds super fun. You have anyone in mind?”  
“Not yet, but I know I want someone super wild.”  
“I mean, you _are_ ruining history, so let’s spoil some more.”  
“Oh, you make it sound bad. Don’t tell me you don’t get a few fun quips at me.”  
“Okay, okay, maybe I do enjoy it because I can pick on you.” Ryan looked over his shoulder to see Steven and Andrew holding hands as they walked out together, and Shane followed his gaze. “Man, I didn’t know for so long. Did you?”  
“Hm? Yeah. I noticed early on.”  
“You did?! I didn’t even notice! Steven just told me yesterday after I saw Andrew kiss him.”  
“Talk about oblivious.”  
“No, I just- I’m busy and I don’t pay attention to these things!”  
“Okay, sure Ryan, like your love-dar isn’t broken.”  
“Did you just say love-dar?”  
“Yeah. Why, bad name? Love-ner? Like love scanner? Or… loooove…hm…”  
“No, no, I don’t need a love-whatever. I am quite fine just knowing my own interests and others when they feel comfortable enough to spread the news.”  
“You like someone?”  
“Ech, I mean, I don’t know, yet. Why, do you?”  
“Yeah, I do.”  
“You do?”  
“I just said I did, didn’t I?” Shane raised an eyebrow at him, then laughed and elbowed his shoulder. “Why, you jealous?”  
“What? Jealous? Of someone I don’t know? Sure, okay, me, jealous of someone that likes _you,_ Shane. As if.”

Ryan’s cheeks began to burn as Shane laughed. They walked outside of the building together, and Shane pat Ryan’s shoulder. 

“I’m teasing you, bud,” Shane said, smiling. “Just wanted to see how you would react. I don’t know if I quite like someone, yet, either. Just waiting to see what’ll happen.”  
“Yeah…right, yeah. Of course you are-were-are.” Ryan cleared his throat, and caught the sound of something rustling from the bushes just beside the gate of the parking lot. “You hear that?”  
“Uh...yeah, coming from there, right?” Shane looked in the direction of the movement, and Ryan held his breath for a moment before they both walked towards the noise. 

A cat jumped out at them, and Ryan yelped, ordering a strong, “stop!” towards the cat, which landed just in front of them and stared up at him, pupils slitted and calm as it swished its tail around.  
“Woah,” Shane breathed out, and looked between Ryan and the cat. “You know this cat?”  
“No idea,” Ryan replied quietly, staring back down at it, and he thought his chest could catch fire any moment. 

Suddenly, the cat hissed, and he felt his head go dizzy as everything seemed to tint, and he caught sight of something red flash across the cat’s face and it ran. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, everything back to normal, and Shane stood there staring at the spot where the cat was before he cleared his throat.

“Well, that was weird. I think I may just head home and watch a weird movie in tribute of today.”  
“Yeah,” Ryan murmured, and looked up at his friend before pulling him into a hug. He didn’t know why he did it, but it was a sudden action, and immediately he thought his face would burn right off. Instead, he didn’t pull away, and Shane seemed to reciprocate, patting his back. “I, uh, sorry. I don’t know why- I just - I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
“It’s okay,” Shane said with a quiet laugh. “I’m surprised, but I appreciate a good ol’ Bergara Bear Hug.”  
“Oh no, you even gave it a name? You know I don’t like bears.”  
“But you’re, like, a human version of Paddington. Bergara Bear Hug is official.”  
“Noooo,” Ryan groaned, smiling, and pushed Shane back a little. “Anything but that.”  
“Nope, it is branded now. The Bergara Bear Hug. It’s your secret attack.”

Ryan just laughed and headed towards his car as Shane went towards his. “Okay, fine. Now I need to find something for you, you shit.”  
“Love you too, bud. See you.”  
“Lo...yeah, see you!”

Ryan skipped a little in his step and hopped into his car, scrolling through his Spotify playlists to find some tunes to listen to while he drove home. He looked up as Shane’s car pulled out of the lot, and he waved goodbye, just as his vision went fuzzy again, and he could have sworn Shane winked at him with the brightest, red eyes, and a whisper of red cloud stream behind him. Ryan blinked, thinking he was just tired, trying to catch a look at Shane’s face again, but he had already turned down the road.

“What the fuck…”


	3. Of Demons and Doves||Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Zach become buddies, and so do their dogs. Shane is there too, I guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Super short chapter but I did want to update you all and let you know I'm determined to share this AU because demon ryan is my f a v e but also to let you know that college is kicking my ass x.x but enjoy some funsies! I might end up doing these short chapter bursts UNLESS you guys would prefer I make long chapters, but it would take a long time to update them

As the weekend rolled around, Ryan had Micki and Dori holding on to the passenger seat on his way to Zach’s house. He pulled up to the driveway and knocked on the door, listening to the barks that echoed from the other side.  
“Bowie, chill, we have some friends coming over!” Zach’s voice replied, and he smiled at Ryan as he opened the door and let him in. “Ooh, are these your puppies? They’re so cute! They don’t mind if I pet them, do they?”  
“Not at all,” Ryan said with a shake of his head as he stepped in and removed his shoes, leaving them by the front door.  
“You want a drink or anything?” Zach asked, heading into the kitchen while Bowie, Micki, and Dori zipped past his feet.  
“I think a glass of water is good, thanks.”

As Zach handed Ryan his glass of water, he rested on his counter and asked, “So what brings you here, other than wanting to meet my handsome little boy?”  
“Uh, well, you might think I’m crazy, but-”  
“I literally am part of the Try Guys. Nothing surprises me anymore.”  
“Okay, um, you know, let me just show you.”

Ryan set his glass down and headed into the living room where the dogs were tousling on the carpet.

“Micki, Dori, Bowie, sit.” As he gave his order, all three dogs promptly looked up at him and sat up. Their faces were all in his direction, waiting, almost as if in a trance.  
“Wow, he listens to you better than he listens to me. How’d you do it?”  
“I have no idea,” Ryan answers honestly, shrugging. “Um, Bowie, get on your back.”

Zach watched with mesmerization as his dog followed immediately, and leaned on the couch to look over Ryan and the dogs. “So what exactly are you trying to get at here other than being the dog whisperer?”  
“I think I can control animals? Or at least talk to them and have them understand me. I don’t know why, but…” Ryan trailed off, and just shrugged again. “I have no idea,” he said, voice quiet.  
“Talk to animals? Who are you, Cinderella? Snow White?” Zach laughed, and Ryan followed to ease himself. “Have you tried talking to, like, a bird or a cat?”  
“No, not yet.”  
“Yet? So you planned to.”  
“I mean I have to try.”  
“If this is a prank or something, you better tell me.”  
“It’s not a prank.”  
“Is it magic?”  
“No, I suck at magic tricks.”  
“Is this part of Unsolved? Are you a demon or something?” Zach began to laugh again but all Ryan could do was let out an awkward chuckle and stiffen, unsure how to answer. Even he couldn’t answer that question for himself, and he wasn’t just about to tell Zach.  
“Look,” Ryan redirected. “Let’s just go outside and see if something else listens to me.”  
“I’m down.”

Zach and Ryan promptly went to the backyard, and looked around. It felt almost stupid to stand there, staring up into the sky and over the fence just waiting for an animal, and Ryan began to laugh nervously.

“Alright, this is really dumb.”  
“No, no, wait, I want to see-”  
“Seriously, this was a waste of ti-”  
“Ryan, if you control a bird, that would be super do-”  
“I mean we’re just two dudes baking in the sun-”  
“What if you like, made a bird do a barrel-”  
“It’s not like something’s gonna come over if I just say, ‘Bird, fly to Zach’s shoulder’ or anything.”

And right on cue, Zach screamed as a pigeon landed and promptly flapped its wings in order to avoid Zach’s hands swiping at it. Ryan stared in awe and realized he should probably do something about the panicking Zach.

“Um, uh, bird, uh, pigeon, come to my feet!” The bird immediately left Zach’s shoulder and stood by Ryan’s feet, staring up at him with wide, curious eyes.

Zach wiped off his shoulder and fixed himself as he came to stand beside Ryan, looking down at the bird then back to his friend. “Dude...you are a wizard or something, I swear it.”  
“I told you I could talk to them.” Ryan paused momentarily before shooing the pigeon away and turning to Zach. “But please don’t tell anyone. I just wanted to see if it only worked on dogs.”  
“What are you, dude? Like, how did you do that? Food?”  
“Zach, seriously.”  
“Okay, I promise. But you gotta tell me how you did that.”  
“I…” Ryan pursed his lips. “I think I’m a demon.”

Zach searched Ryan’s face for any hint of a smile, for any signal that he was bullshitting, but Ryan was all truth and fear, and his mouth simply hung open, unsure how to reply.  
Ryan wasn’t sure what to say, either, and they both stood in quiet until the dogs came knocking on the glass door to the backyard.

“Oh, uh, we should probably take them for a walk,” Ryan suggested.  
“That sounds like fun, sure. We could also grab food along the way and...you can tell me about this demon thing you’re talking about.”  
“You better not be making fun of me.”  
“I’m not. I’m serious! I promise I will not make fun of you or tell anyone else.”  
“Pinky promise.” Ryan held out his pinky and Zach promptly did the same and they shook.  
“Promise.”  
“Alright, let’s go have a doggy date. Er, let’s bring our dogs out on a date. Uh, no, let’s take our dogs- let’s go.”

\---

The following few weeks, Ryan spent his time talking to Zach about his powers and any new occurrence that would pop up. But aside talking to animals, the only thing new he found out was an increase in strength and being able to better control the times he shifted. He found that sometimes his shifting would feed off any extreme times of emotion, and he would have to do everything in his will not to shift, which was getting a little hard.

One day, Shane had tapped Ryan on the shoulder after he had finished editing a video and Ryan turned to him with a smile.  
“Hey Shane, what’s up?”  
“Oh, um, well, I was just wondering, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Zach. Are you guys planning something together?”  
“Us? Oh, no, we’ve just been hanging out. Nothing too interesting.”  
“Really? Like, you guys have been talking _a lot_.”  
“A lot...how?”  
“Like, when you’re not here, you’re with Zach, and even when you are here, I still see snippets of you talking to him.”  
“You look over at my messages when I work?” Ryan squinted at him and Shane waved his hands.  
“I don’t mean- look, I was just curious, okay?”  
“Why, are you jealous?”  
“No! Why would I be jealous of you two hanging out! Better since I have to spend months with you anyway! Go have fun on your dates with Zach!”  
“Dates?” Ryan released a short laugh and tilted his head at Shane, his cheeks beginning to burn. “Wait, you think we’re dating, now?”  
“I mean, why else would you spend so much time with someone…” Shane bit his tongue and drummed his fingers on his desk. “Look, forget I said any of that. I’m just- I’m just being nosy.”  
“You’re really something, Shane Madej.” Ryan smiled and shook his head. “We’re not dating. We’ve honestly just been hanging out. I am the singlest pringle to ever mingle.”  
“Well that’s a relief.”  
“Relief?”  
“I mean, I’m glad to know you’re not dating Zach.”  
“And why does that make you glad?” There was a moment of hesitation before Shane replied.  
“Because I think Eugene is interested in him, okay? I just don’t want Eugene to come after you or anything.”  
“Wow, you are seriously the best friend anyone could ask for.” Ryan rolled his eyes and pondered. “Do you... _want_ to hang out more?”  
“I didn’t mean anything- I mean I don’t want to interrupt you and Zach- I mean, I, I didn’t-”  
“Wednesday.”  
“Huh?”  
“Wednesday, let’s go out after work, grab some drinks. Let’s hang out. I owe it to you, anyway.” Ryan held out his hand to shake on the agreement and Shane took it slowly. “Listen, you’re still my best friend, Shane. Even if I end up hanging out with other people a lot, I’d still hang out with you any day. I realize I’ve been a bit absent beside you, but I’ve just started hanging out with Zach a lot and it’s actually been pretty fun getting to really know him. But Wednesday, just you and me, a couple drinks, maybe a movie if you want. That okay?”  
“Yeah,” Shane agreed, his voice soft. “Yeah. Wednesday.”  
“Cool.”  
“Cool.” Ryan smiled at Shane before turning back to his desk to wrap up any last pieces of video.

Shane’s cheeks began to burn and his chest was beating fast and he wasn’t sure why he had really gotten so riled up over it. For a moment, he felt like something else had taken over and caused him to burst out. But now all he could think about was the sincerity in Ryan’s voice and the bright smile and the gentle touch and Shane was sure if anyone asked him what he was so lost in thought about, he’d be too embarrassed to admit it.


End file.
